Today, Hip-Hop Wired takes a look at the 25 best free efforts from your favorite artists in 2012. The Mix Tape is an essential part of the Hip-Hop culture. It’s what separates us from rock and country music. The ability to craft an excellent body of work and give it out for free is part of what keeps Hip-Hop pure.

It shows that some people still make music for the sake of making good music and not trying to bum rush their way onto the charts. 2012 was another strong year in mixtapes as artists like Rick Ross, Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, Young Jeezy, Chief Keef and many more all dropped noteworthy projects that you can have right now.

If you somehow slept on these projects, just click on the mixtape covers to download the projects and add them to your collection.

After the jump, check out today’s Wired 25 on The 25 Best Mixtapes of 2012.